SCARBOROUGH — Sumi Shan, a successful businesswoman, a dedicated public servant and a community organizer, was nominated last night as the Ontario Liberal candidate for Scarborough—Rouge Park.

“I’m honoured to be nominated as our local provincial Liberal candidate this evening, to provide a strong voice for Scarborough at Queen's Park. I know that Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberals are making a real and meaningful impact on people’s lives in this province," said Sumi. "I want to ensure that families in Scarborough can continue to benefit from a plan that is delivering better public transit, the best care for everyone in our community, and making life more affordable for families.”

"I am so pleased to have Sumi Shan as our Liberal candidate for Scarborough—Rouge Park. Sumi brings a lifelong commitment to making life better and giving back to her community, whether it is with working with youth, seniors, newcomers or non-profit organizations," said Tracy MacCharles, MPP for Pickering–Scarborough East. "As an entrepreneur, Sumi advocates for women in science, technology, engineering and math, while working to preserve our environment for generations to come. Sumi will be an outstanding advocate for the families and businesses of our community and is a solid choice to represent us at Queen’s Park.”

Sumi Shan is a partner and managing director at Infinite Enviro Solutions and founder of Niche Strategies, an international agency focused on supporting start-ups and working to help promote Canada’s cleantech sector globally. After graduation from the University of Guelph, Sumi worked as a senior advisor to various Ontario cabinet ministers helping with newcomers’ economic integration and creating a more accountable government. Shan has also worked with senior leadership at the Heart & Stroke Foundation and with Microsoft Canada. As the daughter of a refugee, an immigrant herself, Sumi learned firsthand the challenges facing families struggling to make ends meet. Her parents, like many other immigrants to Canada, worked multiple jobs to support their family and provide opportunities for their children. Seeing the challenges they faced and their struggles, installed a lifelong commitment in Sumi to improving the lives of others.

Under the leadership of Premier Kathleen Wynne, the Ontario Liberal Party has a plan to create opportunity and fairness during this period of rapid economic change. Ontario's economy is growing, but too many families still feel like they can't get ahead. Our plan includes building a stronger, healthier Ontario through historic new investments in health care, including through free medications for everyone under 25 and a committed expansion to serve those over 65 through OHIP+; providing free tuition for over 225,000 students and on-the-job learning opportunities to help land a great job; and helping 100,000 kids access quality, licensed child care, including a commitment to free preschool.

The Conservatives have vowed to halt the $15 minimum wage. They have backed away from the fight against climate change, and have promised billions of dollars in cuts to critical public services. While the Ontario Liberal Party is focused on investing in the services and infrastructure people rely on, the Conservatives remain focused on gutting healthcare and education, denying working people a decent paycheque, and threatening much-needed public infrastructure projects.